News

Mar 2015   Stem cell transplantation has come of age. Over 80 diseases can now be treated with stem cell transplants, and clinical trials with stem cells are in progress to provide additional therapies in the future. Those companies that provide stem cell banking with high quality and true ethics will only promote stem cell therapies that are based on scientific facts. Too many private cord blood banks are taking a more emotive approach, making false claims, and using eye-catching features to attract clients.

Mar 2015   Cord Blood Registry® (CBR®), the world's largest newborn stem cell company, and China Cord Blood Corporation (CCBC), the first and largest cord blood bank in the world's most populous country, have entered into a strategic partnership agreement for research collaboration. Recognizing the critical need to accelerate biomedical innovation and patient access to important technologies, the two prominent cord blood banks will share data on cord blood collection and preservation. The organizations will also work together to develop a family disease registry for CCBC's clients in China and jointly support newborn stem cell-related clinical trials in the United States and China.

Mar 2015   The medical potential that lies in cord blood is clear and the cord blood banking industry is booming, but have you ever considered the remaining perinatal tissues that are routinely discarded as medical waste? Walking through the aisles of some pharmacies or healthcare stores, you will find capsules of sheep placenta being sold as health supplements, "placental hair masks" and other such things. There are now international services that offer dehydration and encapsulation of your baby's placenta, even placenta cookbooks! A more realistic service is offered by a few cord blood banks that preserve the stem cells from placental blood and placental tissue.

Feb 2015   This legal case will please every family cord blood bank that has ever been attacked in the media: Moscow's Arbitration Court has given the largest damages award in the history of Russian media to Human Stem Cells Institute (HSCI) for a dispute over how family cord blood banking was portrayed in a magazine. The damages amount in rubles is equivalent to nearly USD 1 million.

Feb 2015   Regenerative medicine is a new field of medicine that offers new hope for many patients. Stem cells have the capability to induce tissue repair and ultimately reverse the progression of many diseases. This field unveils new possibilities for the alleviation of many incurable diseases.

Feb 2015   Cord blood banking, both public and private, has illustrated the power of having needed stem cells available for potential use. It is clear that stem cells that are identical to your own are the best, followed by those from near relatives, followed by those from donors who carry the same HLA phenotype. By best I mean that the body does not initiate a process of rejection against them.

Jan 2015   The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA was first formed in 1906, but in 1938 then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a new Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) which greatly increased the power of the FDA. Soon after 1938, the FDA began to designate certain drugs as safe for use only under the supervision of a medical professional, and this category of "prescription-only" drugs was securely codified into law by the 1951 Durham-Humphrey Amendment.

Jan 2015   The Cord Blood Association (CBA) is a new trade and professional association for cord blood banking founded in September 2014. The CBA will be an international nonprofit organization that promotes the banking and use of umbilical cord blood and related tissues for disease treatment and regenerative therapies. Cord blood is a rich source of stem cells that can be used for restoring health in a variety of chronic diseases.

Dec 2014   Nina and Zach Miller were the first parents from the United States to take their daughter Josephine, who has cerebral palsy, to South Korea for therapy with donated cord blood. The Millers participated in a registered cliical trial at the CHA Bundang Medical Center.

Dec 2014   Graft-versus-Host Disease (GvHD) is a common and serious complication following a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor. GvHD is divided into acute and chronic form according to the clinical course and time of the diagnosis. It is a life-threatening condition, which contributes greatly to early mortality after stem cell transplants. Survivors may suffer organ damage and have impaired quality of life.